16 Students Played in Santa Clara!

(Does this kid look happy? He should be! 10-year old Yian Liou just defeated FM Eric Schiller in 23 moves with black. Photo from ChessDryad.)

As a final note to the People’s Replacement, it was a pleasure to see 16 of my students at the tournament. I really wish I had more time to socialize or go over games, but I played in the longest game in both of the morning rounds. Every one of my own four contests went at least 3.5 hours and 55 moves. In past People’s Tournaments in Berkeley, I have taken one half-point bye to spend time reviewing games, but that was not so convenient in this year's event with only four rounds.

Congratulations to my students who won prize money or had other success. Danya shared 2nd place in the Master/Expert section, including a draw against IM Ricardo DeGuzman. Yian also started out well, beating FM Eric Schiller in round 1 with black. James shared 3rd place in Class A with a decent result, ahead of three other students who finished at 50%. And last but not least, mad props to Chris for sharing first place in Class B with a very impressive 3.5/4! Chris also gained the most rating points, jumping from 1659 to 1699 (+40).

FM Schiller, Eric (2200) vs Liou, Yian (1900)
1. d4 f5 2. Qd3 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. f3 Nc6 5. a3 g6 6. Bf4 a6 7. O-O-O Bg7 8. Be5 O-O 9. h4 e6 10. g4 fxg4 11. h5 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Nxh5 13. fxg4 Qg5+ 14. Kb1 Qxg4 15. Nf3 Qf5 16. Qd4 b6 17. Bh3 Qf4 18. Qd3 Ng3 19. Nd4 Nxh1 20. Nxe6 Bxe6 21. Bxe6+ Kh8 22. Rxh1 Rae8 23. Qxg6 Qf1+ 0-1

To replay this game, click on the link to Chess Publisher.

I added Danya, Yian and Chris to the Student Achievements page on my website. You can find Chris under Adult Tournament Successes while Danya and Yian are listed under Master Scalps.